‘Ghostbusters 3′ is Moving Forward After the Death of Harold Ramis

With the passing of Harold Ramis, it seemed another monkey wrench had been thrown into the plans of the long rumored 'Ghostbusters 3,' which co-writer and star Dan Aykroyd has been working on for over twenty years. Now it's been revealed that commerce trumps tragedy as Sony and director Ivan Reitman are definitely moving forward with the project.

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Reitman will be meeting with the studio shortly to figure out how to make the film without Ramis' Egon Spengler, though they note that his role in film was intended to be a cameo. The third film is meant to spawn a new franchise, with Ramis, Bill Murray and Aykroyd originally scheduled to appear in a "passing of the torch"-style sequence.

The report also makes it somewhat surprising the film hasn't moved forward as Aykroyd, Murray, Ramis, and Reitman all have a first dollar stake in the project, though Murray's reticence to return has long been considered the sequel's greatest hold up (he was rumored to shred a script of the film, which he sent back with the note "No one wants to pay money to see fat, old men chasing ghosts."). And perhaps with the recent death of one of the core members of group, Murray may have found a new reason to hold up the proceedings.

Alas, no one wonders if Ernie Hudson will be involved. Poor Winston Zeddemore.